The Farthest North USATT Club, Fairbanks Interior Table Tennis Club hosted the first USATT Sanctioned Event in Fairbanks, Alaska. On September 24, 2006 the FITT Fall Classic saw 27 participants playing 119 Matches over 9 hours in 5 different divisions.
Karl Augestad from Anchorage took home the top honors of the day by placing in three events. With his strong loop and accurate ball placement, Karl captured the Men's Open Singles in 4 games (-11, 4, 9, and 7) Final Match over UAF Doctoral Student, Arun Venkatasubramanian. In the Random Doubles, Karl teamed up with Jamo Parrish to place first in the finals over Arun and Bill Coty. The Random Senior Doubles found Karl matched with Maggie Mitchell. The pair was edged out in the finals by the first place team of Zhang Au Huan and Bill Coty.
The Class C Intermediate competition had 15 participants playing 33 matches to find an undefeated champion. West Valley's High School Junior, Sam Schmoker overcame challenges in the final round from Ken Risse and Jerry Smith to finish in first place. Ken Risse finished second over Jerry Smith.
In the Novice Division Class D, newcomer from Chicago, Shannon O'Neill, won four straight matches to take home first place. Finishing 2nd with a 3-1 record was left hander, Linda Bodie. Carol Johnson captured 3rd with a 2-2 match record.
Special Thank You to our sponsor Butterfly Table Tennis, to USATT for the Door Prizes, and to the University of Alaska, Fairbanks for the tournament site!
Men's Open
1st Karl Augestad
2nd Arun Venkatasubramanian
3rd Mark Wade
Class C Intermediate Singles
1st Sam Schmoker
2nd Ken Risse
3rd Jerry Smith
Class D Novice Singles
1st Shannon O'Neill
2nd Linda Bode
3rd Carol Johnson
Random Doubles
1st Karl Augestad & Jamo Parrish
2nd Arun Venkatasubramanian & Bill Coty
3rd Alan Hoover & Pierce Stowman
Senior Random Doubles (over 40)
1st Zhang Au Huan & Bill Coty
2nd Karl Augestad & Maggie Mitchell
3rd Mark Wade & Lloyd Hilling
Back Row L to R: Arun Venkatasubramanian, Nathan Ayotte, John McElroy, Ken Vehmier, Ken Risse, Jerry Smith, Monica Taylor, Jamo Parrish, Lloyd Hilling, Bill Coty, and Diann Darnall.
Front Row L to R: Juliana Shankle, Chirk Chu, Alex Katkin, Sam Schmoker, Pierce Stowman, Mark Wade, Shannon O'Neill, Robbie Vehmier, Carol Johnson, Doron Partyka, Karl Augestad, Linda Bode, Maggie Mitchell, and Alan Hoover.
Not in Photo: Zhang Au Huan and Vikas Sonwalker.
Random Doubles Photo: Zhang Au Huan and Sam Schmoker
Senior Random Doubles Photo: Karl Augestad and Maggie Mitchell